Do you like Seo Min-a?
Min-a groaned, feeling slightly bad after recalling he had ditched him at the opening party yesterday too. Notwithstanding, he sent a thumbs-up. He didn't have the strength to put on any show-worthy outfit, so he threw on a huge white hoodie, black cargo pants, and panda print palms with a bucket hat for disguise. Throwing on a turquoise fanny pack to throw away the monochrome overall look. Min-a walked into the living room to find Eun Hye already having red wine, and some cream vanilla cake while watching a K-drama series. He didn't bother to identify it, it wasn't his jam anyways. “Heading out?” Eun Hye asked mindlessly, her eyes glued to the screen and some cream staining the side of her mouth. “No, going for a swim.” Min-a lied in a monotonous voice. The reply took Eun Hye's attention off the TV to look at her little brother properly. He had dark shades on with a bucket hat, but not a facemask, and she knew why already. “You must have drank a lot more than Ji-ho said
“I'm just a little irritated, post-hangover.” He chuckled a bit to sound more convincing. “You guys should let my poor honey bear breathe. He's probably still suffering from headaches and anxiety…” Ji-ho cooed. Min-a got lost trying to decipher her insinuation, “what the hell did she mean by anxiety?” He thought to himself. “Anxiety? Anxiety from what?” Inn Woo asked, tilting his head. “From the pictures of last night’s red carpet coming out in a few minutes. It's 7:58, and Ji Won said they’ll be on the site by 8 p.m.” She replied. Inn Woo gradually nodded. “Right, Min-a does get nervous after every event,” he chuckled, earning a slap on the thigh from Ji-ho. “Not funny,” she cautioned him. Min-a smiled at her in appreciation. He took out his phone, not really anticipating the pictures but wanting a distraction to shift the discussion away from him. “I don’t get why he gets anxious though...he’s the most photogenic person I-” “Shut up,” Ji Won cut Inn Woo off before Ji
“My agency…” Min-a lied, “they’re probably wondering about the whole picture thing.” He sounded unbothered, putting the phone on silent. He couldn't deal with Seung-ho right now, not when the conversation was just beginning to shift away from him. “You should talk to them, explain that it's not what they think. The earlier you tackle the issue, the sooner you clear it up, the fewer people will think anything about it,” Ji-ho suggested. Her concern alarmed Min-a more than it should have. “I have nothing to hide, Ji-ho. It’s just a silly media attempt to find something to say about me. You know I'm plain and have nothing to hide,” he shrugged. “Maybe she’s right…” Min-a thought to himself as the conversation shifted away from him again. He had zoned out from whatever they were saying. He knew seeing Seung-ho right now would be the worst decision he could ever make because more eyes were going to be on him than usual. Impulsively rising to his feet, Min-a announced his departure
They walked back to meet Seung-ho. His face lit up again seeing Min-a come back with his manager with a smile on his face, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He knew this because he had spent the last 24 hours healthily obsessing over every single project Seo Min-a had worked on ever since he came into the limelight at 16 years of age. He frowned slightly as he explored his face. Min-a had mastered the art of smiling with his eyes. As an artist, Seung-ho knew how to fake the eye smile so he knew when it was real. And right now, the smile his student had on was definitely fake. It didn’t stop him from playing along though. “Hey! Are you okay?” Seung-ho asked cheerfully, giving Min-a a short-lived hug. He felt him stiffen a second before letting go and returning the hug. “Hello, Mr. Kwan. I wasn't expecting you here.” Min-a chuckled, staring into his icy blue eyes directly. Something about his intense gaze made Seung-ho nervous for the first time. He didn't know how someone
“And… It will get better.” Myung-Dae drummed his fingers rapidly on his glass table. “Oh fuck,” Min-a thought to himself. “Mr. Kwan Seung-ho got 1M likes when he shared the pictures. His manager also thought it would be a good idea that we collaborated on both talents and did a shoot of you both. Together..” Myung-Dae stood from his chair, kicking it sideways excitedly. Min-a stared at him in disbelief, turning to stare at Seung-ho to see his reaction, but the older man was having a good time tapping off the infectious excited energy that Myung-Dae exuded. “Imagine,” Myung-Dae went to the sealed glass window behind him, stretching his hands out like he was about to pitch a billion-won deal. “You, the young talented, and hot-” “Super hot.” Seung-ho corrected and Myung-Dae gave him an appreciative smile, clapping his hands eagerly. “Super hot, Korea’s number one bad boy, Seo Min-a, is now a talented artist. Then Kwan Seung-ho, the mysterious infamous artist who has always a
Seo Min-a couldn’t deny Kwan Seung-ho made a lot of sense at the moment. “Now. Do you get me, student?” Seung-ho growled, his face just inches from Min-a’s. They locked eyes, momentarily forgetting they were in a moving car with two other people who could sense the tension. Min-a felt Seung-ho’s breath on his face. The proximity didn’t bother him; it was the conflicting feelings that threw him off. The way Seung-ho called him “student” felt odd—like it was both insulting and arousing. Not like he expected to be called something else. What was more troubling was the way his art coach's anger turned him on. Min-a felt an overwhelming urge to kiss Seung-ho. So he leaned in, drawn by the magnetic tension, and noted that Seung-ho neither moved away nor leaned in further. “We’re here,” the driver announced, breaking the charged moment. Seo Min-a only realized how close their faces were when he glanced at the rearview mirror. Embarrassed, he grabbed his takeaway lunch from
After witnessing the distress the younger man experienced after the photo leak and how he had withdrawn, Seung-ho was determined to protect him. Even if it meant stepping back to let Min-a shine as he always did. Yet, here he was, preparing for a joint photoshoot with him. “...or should we check out the studio first?” Seung-ho's attention snapped back to Myung-Dae and Aera, who had finished their conversation and were trying to get his input while he was lost in thought. “What?” Seung-ho appeared bewildered. Aera chuckled softly. “Would you like to head to the dressing room to start getting ready or take a tour of the studio first? They've given us an extra hour for preparation.” She inquired, and he pondered on her suggestion. Seung-ho had never experienced anything like this before, and it stirred nerves deep within him. “I think you should see the studio first. It would help you a lot to familiarize yourself with the set and prepare your mind. Besides, Min-a is also
“Really, we were born in completely different centuries. Like you are in the 20th century and me in the 21st.” Min-a differentiated, actually making sense. That was when Seung-ho stopped in his tracks. “What?” Seung-ho nearly yelled. “You mean children born in the year 2000's are now 20-something?” Min-a laughed at his theatrical response. “Now you get why I always say you are so old.” His laughter died off as he came in front of a door. “This can't be real…” Min-a muttered, his face quickly turning to a frown. “What is-” Seung-ho was about to ask, turning his face in the direction of Min-a's gaze and suddenly it made sense. They only reserved one dressing room for them. “Is this supposed to be a joke?” Min-a raised a rhetorical question, his initial joyful mood evaporating. “Min-a, let's just go with it. Why does it rile you up anyways? It's only me.” Seung-ho shrugged but Min-a stared at him as if he was crazy. “That's the goddamn point, it's you!” he pointed at h
Min-a stole glances at Seung-ho as he drove his black Ford Jeep with one hand. He hadn’t realized he found such an innocent action attractive until he suddenly got an art coach. It was even more enticing now because Seung-ho's tattoos were fully visible. He was wearing just a white T-shirt and black Jeans. “Can you stop drilling a hole in the side of my face?” Seung-ho said softly, “your gaze is distracting.” He complained, subtly throwing him a side glance and catching the proud smirk tilting the right side of his lips. “Distracting in a good way or bad way?” Min-a asked, genuinely curious. “Distracting in the way that could end us both in the emergency room for an accident you caused,” Seung-ho replied, keeping his eyes trained on the road. “I see…I’m distracting you in a good way then.” Min-a nodded to himself, pleased with the impact he now knew he could have. Seung-ho just rolled his eyes. During the short seconds of silence between them, he did eve
“You know his name is Duncan, right?” Min-a corrected him. “I don't care, honestly,” Seung-ho muttered. Min-a found his jealousy cute. He did see why he would be jealous though, Duncan was actually hot and gentle. “So,” Seung-ho started, coming to stand beside him. “Do you want a drink?” He asked, not knowing exactly where to start from. It felt like the last time they saw or even held a conversation like this was a whole month ago and it had just been days. “No, I don’t think I want to taste alcohol just yet.” Min-a replied, a small smile appearing and disappearing almost at the same second it occurred. A weird silence ensued between them, just the air conditioner humming in the background and something beeping in the corner. “I think this is the part where you kind of like-make awkward moves so you can get close enough to kiss me..” Min-a mentioned with a straight face, then turned to look Seung-ho right in his icy, blue eyes.
“If you change your mind later, I can come and pick-” Duncan was about to give Min-a the parent speech when he gave him a bored look. “I'm 22 now. Remember that next time you want to give me any parental guidance.” “Then I'm following you inside.” Duncan came down from the car before Min-a could make any protest. Feeling defiant, he sat back in the car and watched him press the doorbell. It took more than a minute for Aera to come to his aid. “Uh, who are you?” Aera asked, studying the hot specimen in front of her. She had yet to see somebody that balanced being mixed better than Kwan Seung-ho. His hair was almost golden and his eyes were a deeper blue than Seung-ho’s. “A mutual friend of Kwan Seung-ho and Min-a…” Duncan stepped back to show Min-a in the car going through his phone. “Oh, I see…please come in and make yourself comfortable. “Is he not coming in?” Aera stopped dragging the door. “He will. Leave the door open, and gi
Duncan has done so many difficult jobs on his way to the top. Jobs that made him question his decision to take it in the first place. Living in the Seo household for the next 6 months was a decision he was starting to question and it was only the fourth day. A graveyard had nothing on stillness in the Seo's household right now. Min-a stayed shut in his room. Eun Hye also wouldn't come out either and their father was out of the question for him. Duncan eavesdropped on their conversation last night and he heard everything. Including the insulting slap, Seo Jung Ju gave to Min-a after he mentioned sucking cock. That was part of the reason why Duncan gave Min-a almost an entire day to himself to collect his traumatized mind together. Though, he still hovered close, once in a while checking if Min-a came online or eavesdropping by his door for any movement. Then he would do the same for Eun Hye. It was exhausting, truly exhausting to be checking on two grown adults, but what
Jung Ju took his attention away from his screen, looking above his glasses to stare at Eun Hye, “I saw it.” He replied simply, going back to clicking on his keyboard. Eun Hye had to stifle a scoff. His expression was so melancholic, almost neutral like he was silently mocking her. “When Min-a shows up, I will review the contract.” Jung Ju said out of nowhere. On cue, Min-a pushed the door gently, slipping inside and appearing beside Eun Hye. “Good, you showed up.” Jung Ju muttered unenthusiastically. He moved his chair closer to the table hunching over the contract book. Sending both of them a cold glance, he flipped the cover open. Eun Hye could feel her soul leaving her, with every page he flipped and every neutral expression his face held, she felt herself getting paler. She inhaled through her teeth, a deep shaky breath that caught Min-a's attention. “Where the hell did you get that contract from?” Min-a hissed at her, nudging h
“Older sister, for the love of god, don't even for once fucking say you did it to protect me from being exploited by Father because you were doing no different. Don't say you knew I won't be able to handle the heat because I was the one doing the dirty jobs for you.” Min-a shot to his feet, attempting to walk out before stopping in his tracks. “I don't feel sorry for you, just so you know. What hurts is that I would still be dragged down by your own mess.” And with that, he stormed off to the back of the house, a place he barely came to. It harbored the only indoor swimming pool they had. He had no plans of getting wet, he only wanted to pretend it was the beach when he stirred the water, so it sounded like water clapping against the shores. Time flew by insanely fast when you weren't watching its every move. No one had to inform Min-a that his father was home. The temperature in the house significantly dropped. A night maid popped through the black screen glass door
After Eun Hye’s fourth glass, it occurred to her that she never really filled Heidi in on her ordeal with her father, especially the aftermath. Heidi was her assistant, so she decided to discuss further possibilities like herself being replaced by a more compatible man from the board; so the old fellows could finally sleep at night. Since Seo Eun Hye assumed the role of CEO for one of Seo's premier assets, their Digital Advertising agency, the male members of the corporate board consistently opposed her. Each task she undertook only intensified the pressure on her to deliver efficiently. Taking her last gulp and emptying the wine bottle, she concluded her last option was to face the heat in the kitchen. The only issue was her father was the chef. Spacing around to calm her anxiety, Min-a crossed her mind again. She left her room and headed towards his side of his glass mansion, dropping the empty bottle on the kitchen counter on her way there. Eun Hye met
“Teacher and student my foot…” Duncan smirked. “I guess Min-a does have a type.” He walked away from the half-done painting to the others on the walls. Some were unhinging, reminding Duncan that he would never fully understand the kid's twisted mind. The most captivating was a dashing play of Red and black. If anyone could portray angst, using nothing but color palettes to depict struggle and elegance, it was Min-a. That was his specialty. He didn't need to paint human beings. As Duncan remembered him saying; “Feeling is not a human quality, feeling is an energy that can be shown through any medium, from sound to silence.” “This boy only grows scarier everyday.” Duncan muttered to himself, leaving the gallery worthy experience behind to finally sit on his bed. The bed dipping didn't even wake Min-a up, he had his long hair sprawled across his face. Duncan was amazed by how lush and long it had become since the last time he saw him a
For most of the ride back to Seo’s Family home, Duncan Laurence and Seo Eun Hye spent it catching up on each other's lives and accomplishments, which included the fact that Eun Hye made it to the CEO status she always dreamed of being as a kid. They got to the mansion somewhere around five in the evening after Duncan made them stop at his favorite ice cream spot around the corner. It had gone through an entire renovation and a lot more ice cream flavors had been added to its serving menus. “I don't know if it's just me but I think Mr. Kwan doesn't really like me..” Duncan still felt unsure because he barely knew the guy. He just met him today and yet, nothing about him felt receptive. It was almost like he was back in the Netherlands again where he was seen as a foreigner just because he had bold Asian genes. “Kwan Seung-ho?” Eun Hye couldn't help but laugh. “If only you witnessed our first few interactions. He is a straightforward person and very b